In this episode, we perceive surprise about the act of parting away, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 185, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the sweltering nature of this domain.
எல் வளை ஞெகிழச் சாஅய், ஆயிழை
நல் எழிற் பணைத் தோள் இருங் கவின் அழிய,
பெருங் கையற்ற நெஞ்சமொடு நத் துறந்து,
இரும்பின் இன் உயிர் உடையோர் போல,
வலித்து வல்லினர், காதலர்; வாடல்
ஒலி கழை நிவந்த நெல்லுடை நெடு வெதிர்
கலி கொள் மள்ளர் வில் விசையின் உடைய,
பைது அற வெம்பிய கல் பொரு பரப்பின்
வேனில் அத்தத்து ஆங்கண், வான் உலந்து
அருவி ஆன்ற உயர்சிமை மருங்கில்,
பெரு விழா விளக்கம் போல, பல உடன்
இலை இல மலர்ந்த இலவமொடு
நிலை உயர் பிறங்கல் மலை இறந்தோரே.
A deep dive into the dreariness of this domain, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man has parted from her to go in search of wealth:
“Making shining bangles to slip away, bamboo-like, beautiful arms, clad in well-etched jewels to lose their great beauty, leaving behind an utterly helpless heart, he has left, akin to a person, whose sweet life is made of iron! He has strength to be so, that lover of mine, the one who parted away, crossing those high mountains to traverse spaces, where the fading, thick bamboo that soars high with seeds is split and broken, by the speeding arrows of ecstatic robbers, in those scorched spaces, without a spot of green, filled with stones, during the harsh summer, when all the white cascades have dried up in the peaks of the mountains nearby, and where, akin to lamps in a great festival, only the flowers of the silk cotton bloom, bereft of leaves!”
Time to tread the familiar stony paths! The lady talks about what the man’s parting had done to her, namely made her so thin that her bangles slipped away from her arms, and left her heart helpless and pining. Looking at how the man could do this, she concludes that he must be hardened, seemingly as if his life was made of iron. Then, she talks about the drylands space he treads, where bamboos are split by the careless arrows of jubilant robbers, where it’s all bleak and dry, not a spot of water, even the evergreen cascades have dried up in the hills. She concludes by describing how the silk cotton tree blooms with bright red flowers, even though it has no leaves, and appears like the lamps lit during a festivity!
‘Oh! He’s gone. How could he?’ seems to be the lament of the lady about the man’s parting. The interesting element here is the portrait of the silk cotton tree in a phase of having flowers, without any green around, one called ‘leafless blooming’, a characteristic of trees in dry, arid regions to conserve water, and even when struggling to thrive, keeping the species propagating with the blooming flowers and that invitation to pollinators. A subtle lesson on finding the moisture within to keep going and fulfilling your duty, no matter how dry and dreary the world around may seem!